This invention relates to counting articles such for example as tablets dispensed by pharmacists.
It is known to count articles by weighing and dividing the weight by a nominal article weight. The dividend, which will usually involve an extraneous fraction, is rounded off to a whole number, since it is usually inconsistent to speak of a fraction of an article especially in the case of tablets.
However, since article weights, and particularly tablet weights, can vary significantly from their nominal weight, this weighing method can give erroneous count values. For example, if tablets having a nominal weight of one gram could have actual weights between 0.9 and 1.1 grams, the count as calculated from weighing out 100 grams would be 100 but in actuality the number could by anything between 91 and 111.
Such an error could be both economically and pharmaceutically unacceptable.